Community News For The Windham Edition

State Of The Lake Forum

COVENTRY -- The Coventry Lake Advisory & Monitoring Committee is sponsoring the annual State of the Lake Forum on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., at the Patriots Park Lodge, 172 Lake St.

The program includes a presentation by The Last Green Valley Rangers called ‘Soaring Over The Last Green Valley: The Return of Bald Eagles’ and updates on the health of Coventry Lake and the status of the hydrilla treatments. Contact coventrylakeadvisor@coventryCT.org for information.

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Walktober At The Nathan Hale Homestead

COVENTRY -- Lace up your walking shoes and join the Nathan Hale Homestead staff for Walktober. On Saturday, Sept. 14, experience the Hale Homestead Landscape Tour: Reading an 18th-Century Farm, beginning at 11 am. Take an easy 1.5-mile stroll around the Homestead and through history, discovering the Hale farm as it was in Nathan’s time. Travel into the Nathan Hale State Forest during the last leg of the journey on the “road to Norwich,” an 18th-centrury dirt road that the Hale Family used to drive their livestock to Market.

Walktober encourages participants to explore the National Heritage Corridor’s 35 towns in easter CT and south-central MA through walks, hikes, historic tales, paddles, bike rides, farm visits, and more offered by dedicated and passionate Walktober teams and the generous sponsors that make it happen. Visit thelastgreenvalley.org/explore-the-last-green-valley/walktober for more information.

Registration for the Hale Homestead Landscape Tour is recommended at hale@ctlandmarks.org or 860-742-6917. Heavy rain cancels and leashed dogs are permitted. Participation is free. Donations are welcome to support the care of the Nathan Hale Homestead.

The Nathan Hale Homestead is located at 2299 South St. and is open for regular tours from May through October. For hours or more information, visit www.ctlandmarks.org, email hale@ctlandmarks.org, or call 860-742-6917.

Celebrate Mansfield Festival

STORRS -- The Mansfield Downtown Partnership’s 16th annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival will feature Parsonsfield as the headliner. Parsonsfield is a folk-rock outfit known for their rich harmonies, vibrant songwriting, and energetic live performances. Visit downtownstorrsfestival.org for more information.

Celebrate Mansfield Festival is a way to promote downtown Storrs and to highlight the businesses and community organizations that make Mansfield unique. The festival is free and open to the public and will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 2 to 8 p.m. Activity booths are open from 2 to 6 p.m. The Storrs Farmers Market is open from 3 to 6 p.m. Parsonsfield performs from 6.30 to 8 p.m.

The festival will take place on and around Betsy Paterson Square, 2 Dog Lane. The rain location is E. O. Smith High School, 1235 Storrs Road. Free parking will be available in the Downtown Storrs Parking Garage, 33 Royce Circle.

Mushrooms Talk

MANSFIELD -- The Mansfield Garden Gate Club will host Karen Monger of The Three Foragers on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7:15 p.m. at the Mansfield Senior Center, 303 Maple Road.

Monger will speak on mushrooms found in CT and how they can be prepared. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by a brief business meeting. Contact Renie Steinway at reniesteinway@gmail.com for more information.

Theatre Auditions

WILLIMANTIC -- The Windham Theatre Guild will hold open auditions for the November Main Stage production of Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan. British talk-show host David Frost has become a lowbrow laughingstock. Richard M. Nixon has just resigned from the United States presidency in total disgrace over Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. Determined to resurrect his career, Frost risks everything on a series of in-depth interviews in order to extract an apology from Nixon. The cagey Nixon, however, is equally bent on redeeming himself in his nation's eyes. In the television age, image is king, and both men are desperate to out-talk and upstage each other as the cameras roll. The result is the interview that sealed a president's legacy.

The auditions will take place at the First Congregational Church, 199 Valley St., on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 16 and 17, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Eight men and two women are needed. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Sides will be provided at auditions. You do not need to prepare a monologue. Visit windhamtheatreguild.org for character descriptions. Email waynent@hotmail.com with questions. Show dates are Nov. 8, 9 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Risk Of Mosquito-Borne Diseases Continues

AREA -- The State Mosquito Management Program is warning Connecticut residents about the risk of infection by eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile virus (WNV) this season. So far, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) has detected EEE-infected mosquitoes in Chester, Haddam, Hampton, Killingworth, Madison, North Stonington, Plainfield, Shelton, Stonington, and Voluntown.

WNV-infected mosquitoes have been detected in: Bridgeport, Chester, East Haven, Greenwich, Groton, Hartford, Manchester, New Haven, North Haven, North Stonington, Norwalk, South Windsor, Stamford, Voluntown, West Hartford, West Haven, and Wethersfield.

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Employment, Training Workshop

WILLIMANTIC -- A free employment and training workshop for Willimantic-area residents will take place at the Willimantic American Job Center, 1320 Main St., in Tyler Square. The session is offered by the Connecticut Department of Labor. Due to space limitations, advance registration is encouraged by going to CTHires.com or calling 860-450-7603.

Job Corps Orientation (Ages 17-24): Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon. An overview of Job Corps, trades offered, where they are located, and expectations for Job Corps students. Also receive information about eligibility and the process to enroll in the program. This is the starting point for any prospective Job Corps student.

Consistency Of The Temporal

WILLIMANTIC -- The Art Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University will present "Consistency of the Temporal" from now through Oct. 10, in the Fine Arts Instructional Center. The exhibition features local mixed-media artist Beatrice Modisett.

Modisett's works are inspired by geological formations, personal histories and the systems that humans create in an attempt to navigate and control the landscape. Erosion as a means of creation is another theme of her art.

Modisett's most recent work is inspired by her recent immersion in Brescia, Italy, a city that was built on the foundations of its own ruins. She pulled inspiration from her late grandparents' farm and home in eastern Connecticut. Her paintings, works on paper and pit-fired ceramics weave together her geological and auto-biographical histories.

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Residents of Brescia often unearth subterranean artifacts and objects the city's past. In her exhibition at Eastern, Modisett presents objects that she has extracted from the earth, in a gesture of homage to her own heritage. The large-scale paintings in the exhibition were formed through the accrual and erosion of layers of thinned oil paint. The ceramic and mixed-media sculptures present as objects that could have been pulled from the geological events that the paintings depict, and serve as windows through which to view those events.

The Art Gallery is located in room 112 of the Fine Arts Instructional Center on Eastern's campus, 83 Windham St. Gallery hours are Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 1 to 7 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m. Parking is available in Cervantes Garage and in the Student Center parking lot. For more information, visit http://www.easternct.edu/artgallery or call 860-465-4659.

Trail Wood Programs

HAMPTON -- The following programs will take place at Trail Wood, 93 Kenyon Road. Call 860-928-4948 or visit ctaudubon.org/trail-wood-home for more information.

Friday Afternoon Walks: Now through Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. Join plant enthusiast Anne Christie and nature photographer Amy Porter for a leisurely walk on the trails. See what is of interest in the plant world and share tips on how to get good nature shots. All ages welcome. Meet at Trail Wood. Free to CAS members; $3 non-members.

Gardens & Grounds Group: Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m. to noon. Join a new group of Trail Wood enthusiasts in helping to keep the grounds around the homestead looking lovely and to restore some of the Teale plantings. No experience is necessary. Please bring gloves, rakes, clippers and spades. During the coffee break, guests will celebrate Nellie’s birthday with cake.

Used Book Sale, Writer’s Workshop

HAMPTON -- EASTCONN’s first big used book sale and writers’ workshops with Connecticut authors will be held Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the EASTCONN Conference Center, 376 Hartford Tpke.

The book sale will feature hundreds of gently used books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, records, puzzles and games. Refreshments will be available. Admission to the book sale is free and the public is welcome. Proceeds from the book sale support EASTCONN education programs.

The “Find Your Voice with Connecticut Authors” writers’ workshops will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature published writers, including award-winning author Steve Parlato, Michael Belanger, James Mustich and national award-winning storyteller Carolyn Stearns.

Participants will learn about the authors’ writing strategies, the secrets of their success and how they got published. A panel discussion with all four writers will follow. Lunch will be served. Participation is $25, which includes the workshops, panel discussion and lunch. Visit www.eastconn.org/authors for details and to pre-register.

Andrej 5K Fun Run

CHAPLIN -- The second annual Andrej 5K will occur on Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m., at Mansfield Hollow State Park, 31 Old Willimantic Road. The fun run/walk is in honor of Andrej Cavarkapa, an avid runner and high school teacher who passed away in January 2017 while jogging near his home in West Hartford. The event was created to keep Andrej's spirit alive, as well as to raise funds for his memorial endowed scholarship at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Cavarkapa was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzcegovina, in 1987, the son of Branko and Aleksandra Cavarkapa. He was four years old when his family moved to the United States. He graduated from Eastern in 2009 with degrees in biology and biochemistry, and also received his master's degree in secondary education from Eastern in 2012.

Cavarkapa was a science teacher at RHAM High School where he was known as "Mr. C." He was passionate about his job and worked to make physics and chemistry accessible to all students. His interests included art, music, environmental activism and running.

The Andrej Cavarkapa Memorial Endowed Scholarship honors Andrej's passion for running and education by assisting biology majors with financial need, with a preference for RHAM graduates.

All are welcome to run or walk the trail, including dogs, although the terrain is not suitable for strollers or wheelchairs. Those unable to attend are encouraged to run or walk in solidarity. People from as far as Hawaii and Idaho participated in solidarity last year. An after party will follow the run.

Top Shelf Gallery Show

HAMPTON -- The September-October show at Fletcher Memorial Library’s Top Shelf Gallery features noted local printmaker and pastel painter, Shirley Bernstein. The show focuses on her favorite subject--skies dominated by cloud formations--and will include woodcuts and oil pastels. The Top Shelf Gallery is located at the library, 257 Main St. Call 860-455-1086 for more information.

Joshua’s Trust Event

Join master naturalist Deb Field and an entomologist as they hunt for fall insects and birds along the Willimantic and Ten Mile Rivers. The walk will take place at Potter Meadow in Willimantic on Saturday, Sept. 14 , at 10 a.m. Easy but can be some wet areas. Kid friendly, no dogs. Bring binoculars and dress appropriately. Rain cancels. Limited to 15 participants.

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5K Race, Walk

HAMPTON -- The Hampton Recreation Commission is offering a 5K race, with both runner and walker categories on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 190 West Old, Route 6.

The relatively flat road/off-road course is on the lightly travelled streets of Hampton and through trails of the Goodwin State Forest. Proceeds from the race will support the Hampton Fire Department and the course will start and end at its facility at 190 West Old Route 6.

Shirts will be provided for the first 100 registrants. A water station on the course will be set up and refreshments after the race will be provided.

The registration fee is $15 to $20. Visit runsignup.com to register and call Bob Johnson at 860-455-0794 for more information.

James L. Goodwin was one of the state’s earliest conservationists. He attended the Yale School of Forestry when it was still in its infancy and graduated in 1910. Three years after his graduation, in 1913, Goodwin came to Hampton and purchased his first piece of property. Of these three acres of white pine and 25 acres of open field Goodwin wrote, "…it was my ambition to own, develop, and operate my own timber acres according to the best forestry principles." Ultimately, the approximately 2,000 acres included Pine Acres Lake, Christmas trees, stands of timber, and apple orchards. He gave the forest to the state of Connecticut, establishing the Goodwin Conservation Center.

Great Museum Caper Puzzle Room

COVENTRY -- Step back in time to the 1930s and help Hale benefactor George Dudley Seymour save "The Birthplace," better known as the Nathan Hale Homestead, 2299 South St.

Teams of two to six participants are recommended. The group maximum is six. Youth ages 12 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Your caper begins promptly at your scheduled time, so arrive 15 minutes early. There is no need to bring anything as everything will be provided.

The puzzle room is available by appointment Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Bookings are available from now through Sunday, Oct. 27. The cost is $60 per group and $45 per group for CTL members. The price includes a voucher to tour the Nathan Hale Homestead during regular operating hours, valid until Oct. 27. Black-out dates may apply. Visit https://halegreatmuseumcaper.eventbrite.com to register. For more information, contact hale@ctlandmarks.org or 860-742-6917.